THE MAKING OF "CROSSING THE BAR"

CONCEPTION AND THE IMPORTANCE OF FOREPLAY - Blog 8 of 10

Since my last entry the first “defeat” has come and gone.

Through the San Francisco Film Society I applied last September for a $15,000 screenwriting grant from the Hearst Foundation. I anticipated the funds could be used, to a large degree, to fund my basic living expenses (room and board) during the eight to ten weeks required to successfully adapt the existing treatment into a completed first draft of the screenplay for “Crossing the Bar”. By some careful financial planning the grant could also cover the cost of a local script analyst (Jennine Lanouette), as well as to facilitate the formation of a small core team of three individuals that would put into motion our initial fund-raising efforts with the previously established partnership and assistance of IndieGoGo.com, a fundraising web site. When I learned that "Crossing the Bar" did not even make it to the short list of finalists, my first response was to question the viability of the project and the intelligence of continuing on. After all, wasn’t it true that I’d been unable to find the time to complete the '"Olive Us Olive U" script or its first 20-page adaptation into a novel? Now I have the time. This setback is a good thing.

However, after careful consideration the plan is to carry-on with "Crossing the Bar". After all, this is Show Business. At the moment only one unresolved item is left in the hands of the San Francisco Film Society. Back when "Crossing the Bar" was called "Pilots of the Golden Gate", the Film Society fiscally sponsored the project as a historical documentary. Now it is reinvented into a film that portrays the fictionalized biography of Aimée Tanneur and the influential role she played during the Twentieth Century’s “second- wave” expansion of the Feminist Movement on the Bay of San Francisco. I await the Film Society’s decision whether or not to extend a non-profit status to the film’s new persona. I will keep you informed as things progress along this path.

Meantime, let’s get on with it by beginning a conversation about distribution strategy to achieve worldwide distribution of this film. All my efforts are currently directed into three inter-related marketing areas. First, simultaneously with the start of production, a public relations campaign is initiated to develop ongoing liaisons with cherry-picked list of distributors and specialized online bloggers, newspapers, and newsletter editors. Second, upon completion of post-production audiences will access the program in a variety of film festival formats, such as thematic series and juried shows; and the film will gain high visibility in public venues, exhibits and websites created especially for those who have a keen interest in the subject matter. Third, International, National and Regional Historical and Maritime Preservation Societies and Museums, and Maritime Academies. This will create opportunities for open screenings, regional shows, traveling tours, retrospectives and multi-media exhibits.

But I hear the voices, “Haven’t you forgotten full use of the Internet? No, no. I get into that next time. The paradigm is changing and I am being vigilant.

Copyright 2010 G.Leo Maselli